Blog Review: Empowerment

I have been blogging since I was 14 years old, and technically even longer than that if you count YouTube as a blog platform. I was looking for an outlet to express my thoughts on a variety of topics ranging from my interest in health and fitness to my interest in bigger issues such as LGBTQ+ issues and civil rights cases. I didn't really expect anyone to actually read what I was writing, but then one day, one of my health posts went viral - over 31,000 views, to be exact.

This pushed me to continue to express my thoughts on my social media platforms, and when I found out I could have a blog during the class, I was ecstatic to use this as an outlet for my thoughts on news and social media. 

I use blogging as a form of empowerment, both for myself and for others. When I was younger, I set one goal for myself: live every day as a leader. While I did not manifest this mindset until my later high school years, I did know what I wanted to do, but just needed to figure out how to actually do it. 

That's when I found blogging. 

My earlier blogs focused on my new health and fitness lifestyle when I started working at a gym as a teenager, and through that, I created a separate blog to focus on my love of all things fashion and makeup. Although these were fulfilling at the time, eventually I became bored of myself, and didn't feel like my blogs were empowering others anymore, so I moved onto bigger things - topics surrounding actual issues happening in our world. 

This stemmed from a post I saw from a friend on Facebook one day. When same-sex marriage was legalized in all 50 states, this friend took to Facebook to express his thoughts. He did not agree with this Supreme Court decision, saying that it was wrong in God's eyes. 

That infuriated me, and I took to my blog to write this post. 

A few months later, in my senior year of high school, I took a class on the Holocaust and human behavior, once again using blogging as an outlet to express my thoughts on this class while empowering my classmates to do the same for a class of such a heavy topic. 

In college, I eventually turned this blog into a new space for my gender studies courses, using my blog to discuss topics related to women in the social realm. These are where some of my favorite posts came from. 

Now, in my senior year, I am wrapping up my Media Law and Literacy course with rounding out my posts on "Let's Talk Freedoms." I have thoroughly enjoyed learning about different news media sources and the effect these have on our realm today. I hope to carry on my blog and to blend my posts with my future studies in law school and my work as I enter into civil rights law. I want to continue to empower myself by using my blog as an outlet while empowering others to think about different perspectives. 

That's all for now! 

Lynds 

Privacy: Online & Off

Privacy, named on our class blog as "the most vexing issue of the Digital Age," has become increasingly important as technology and social media has evolved over the past century. While technology is extremely helpful and almost all of the world relies on technology for everyday functions, technology is a dangerous phenomenon.

Growing up, my parents were always extremely cautious of my "computer time," and I never had a phone until I was 13 (which probably seems young to most people, but that's ancient compared to the number of middle schoolers surrounding me with phones since the 3rd grade). Certain websites, including major social media sites, were extremely monitored by parents, but I didn't understand why at the time; in fact, I resented them for doing so.

I mean, cmon mom - how bad could MySpace be? Sure, it's swarming with thousands upon thousands of strangers, but I'm 13! I know what I'm doing!

Ugh - mothers know best. Everything I posted on my MySpace page has come back to haunt me in some type of way, and this evolved quickly into my use of Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. If someone friended me and I didn't know them, I would usually accept it if they "looked nice." LOOKED NICE?!?!??! I was so young and vulnerable.

Fast forward a few years, and now I am absolutely terrified of the Internet. Does this stop me from posting? No, of course not. But I am increasingly cautious about what I post, who I send what, and where my face may be, because I never know who is watching or whose hands my information could end up in, as discussed in the Ted Talks on our class blog discussing online life as "permanent as a tattoo."

This is something I think we should all be cautious of. Even when our phone is sitting on the table next to us, you NEVER know who is listening...

Lynds

A Social/News Media Proposal of My Own

After learning more about the media this past semester, and being enrolled in a Public and Professional Writing course, I was very interested in doing a project that combined my two interests. With a template of a project already drafted up by my English professor, I decided to create my own social media policy in a fictional law firm scenario (of my own, of course!). This project entailed a process of drafting, feedback, and steps to ensure that my policy proposal and instructions I created to go along with the policy were real enough to be an actual policy for a law firm in today's day and age.

Step 1: Drafting the policy
Using my textbook for the course, previous knowledge from my experience in a law firm, and some in-depth research on different social media policies for firms around the nation, I came up with my own proposal. This original proposal was very basic; I did not include any headings/subheadings to separate sections, I was extremely specific in my description of social media platforms, and I did not put much emphasis on news media and marketing. Click here to view my original proposal. 

Step 2: Feedback from a professional
After completing my first draft, I wanted to gain some insight from a professional in the field. I contacted my resources at a corporate firm in Chicago, as well as my own father, to have them review my original proposal. The comments I received were extremely helpful and professional:

"You are very specific on some things (like naming many of the main stream social media outlets), but vague in others. The problem with naming specific things is that it ends updating the policy as new main stream options evolve and those that are currently relevant become less prevalent.  

You may want to want to mention that all employees of Clos, LLP adhere to a code of conduct and must annually sign NDA’s (Non-Disclosure Agreements) protecting the company, employees, clients, and vendors from unauthorized dissemination of information. We (Marmon) have several (I sign 4 different NDA’s every year)."

Click here to see the full review of the commentary on my original proposal. 

Step 3: Final draft 
From this feedback and comments, I revised my proposal accordingly, adding in subheadings, a paragraph describing the code of conduct and non-disclosure agreement, and I eliminated the specific social media sources while expanding the news media and marketing section. I am very pleased with my final draft, and feel that my policy could be applicable to an actual law firm (someday!). Click here to see my final proposal. 

Step 4: Instructions 
Part of my project also included creating a set of instructions to accompany my proposal, so I decided to focus on how to create a formal email for my fictional law firm. In this, I created instructions on how to address the email, what to put on the subject line, what to do for a proper greeting, how to format the body, and the proper way to close the email with a signature. I created these instructions based on what I have learned over the years, my personal preferences, and research from my English course textbook. Click here to few my set of instructions. 

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the process of creating a social/new media policy for a fake law firm, and I think this project will be beneficial to my future in law, writing, and policy work!

Lynds

Mediasphere

Before seeing my classmate's presentation, I did not realize there was a difference between mainstream and alternative media.

Mainstream media refers to that which we usually think of -- Fox News, CNN, USA Today, AP, etc. Alternative media refers to companies that are not mainstream (obviously), meaning that they are not owned by corporations. Alternative media companies do not focus on profits, so they do not have to worry about conflicts of interest in relation to objectivity. Because of this, some alternative media is pushed off as being full of "conspiracy theories" since anyone can come up with and publish their thoughts on their media platforms.

The Internet is a deep place that allows individuals to express themselves however they may choose. This gives individuals and groups the power to spread their opinions as far and wide as they can, even if what they are spreading has any level of truth or falsity behind it. As the students stated in their presentation, this could lead to issues of there being an overload of information that may not be the highest quality.

The targeted audiences is one of the biggest differences between mainstream and alternative media. While mainstream aims to satisfy a majority of the population, whether that is those who watch the actual news stories or those who use the Internet/social media to get the information, alternative media aims to portray information to a much smaller group. In some circumstances, alternative media outlets will be extremely polarized in their political or social views, or even how they view the business, sciences, or medical realms. Alternative media companies rely heavily on the Internet and sometimes radio as opposed to television.

This is where the importance of reliable sources comes in, since the idea of "fake news" is so prevalant today. The news' job is to report facts, not opinions. When opinions are inserted into news, that source is then "biased" and will input that bias onto the reader, making it bad news. It's vital to consider a source's facts, how they ensure that these facts are true, and if the language they use, whether verbal or written, portrays a certain bias, especially if it is political news. As previously stated, anyone can post their thoughts pretty much wherever they want to - it is up to the readers to be critical and analytical about what they are reading.

Interestingly enough, the student presenters found that The Economist, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and New York Times are among some of the most reliable sources, while CNN, ABC, the Huffington Post, and NBC are some of the least reliable sources.

That's all for now...
Lynds

Smith-Mundt Act: Hello? Transparency?

It's all too often that our own Congress will pass an act or a law that seems to be protecting us as citizens and acting in our best interest, when in reality, it is actually hurting us. A massive example of this, which may not be the most well-known or prominent, is the example of the Smith-Mundt Act, also known as the U.S. Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948.

This act was intentionally set out in the mid-1900's to promote a better understanding of the American people and United States to those outside of the nation while strengthening foreign relations, and thus it was an act regarding legislative authorization for propaganda activities conducted by the US. Sounds great on the surface, right?

Wrong. In 2012, the real issues with this act came to light, and the Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 2012 was amended and passed because of the deep-set problems with the 1948 version of the act. While it seems like the act was passed with good reason, it actually was detrimental to the American people due to the lack of transparency from their own government. This "anti-propaganda" act, according to ForeignPolicy.com, prevented the United States government from sending out ANY and ALL programming to the American audience.

Yes - you read that correctly: NO PROGRAMMING could legally be sent out to the American public from the government before 2012. Whaaaat?

While other natiosn were receiving programming related to human trafficking across Asia and human rights abuses in Iran, the U.S. public was hearing nothing from our own government on such issues. All "propaganda" was prohibited by the original Smith-Mundt Act because way back when, a Senator thought that this type of propaganda should be left out of the American public's reach to "distinguish from the Soviet Union where domestic propaganda is a principal government activity."

In a sense, I get it. Americans pay not want their tax money going to propaganda that goes out to the public from the government. But, also, TRANSPARENCY!!!!

Luckily, the modernization act in 2012 did a lot of good for America, because now there are tons of government-funded radio and TV programs around the nation.

Yay, Congress!

That's all for now. Lynds

Social Media: the Positive & Negative Effects

As previously discussed, social media can be both a blessing and a curse. After working for my Congressman this past summer, I realized how essential the Internet and social media is for communication in today's day, even though it does have numerous negative effects that studies have proven over the past few decades. Below, I will explore a few of the big examples of Internet frenzies that I believe have both positive and negative effects on the people who use them. 

SnapChat: 

-Positives: SnapChat is used to keep people in constant communication via photos and videos (and texting now, too). This truly is a revolutionary tool that has strengthened the communication between millions of people, especially with the feature of "group chats" via pictures. 

-Negatives: SnapChats disappear. That's the appeal of this app. Once you send a snap to someone and they open it, unless they screenshot it or save it to the chat, that "snap" is then gone..."forever." Because of this function, SnapChat has been used for many crimes, including horrendous kidnappings, bullying, assaults, robberies, the list goes on and on - all because criminals think they will not be caught, since their actions no longer virtually exist. 

-Used by age group 13-30. 

Instagram: 

-Positives: Clout. People make MILLIONS off of one Instagram post.

-Negatives: Narcissism. Some people define their worthiness off of how many likes they get, or think that their life is going to end if they don't post enough pictures of themselves in 1 day. 

-Used by age group 5-90. 

Twitter: 

-Positives: Hilarious and has a different sense of humor; great for getting updates on different happenings around the world since it is used to internationally.

-Negatives: Can scroll for hours...because it never ends. 

-Used by age group 14-90. Seriously, 90 year olds use Twitter. 

Those are just a few of my favorites...what are yours? 

Xoxo,

Lynds 

Social Media Frenzy

If I could go back and slap some sense into my 13-year-old self, boy oh boy would I. My mother would constantly harp on me to stop blasting my life on my social media platforms, but did I listen to her? No, of course not, because I thought I knew better than she did.

WRONGO.

When conducting a Google search of my name, some of the first things that pop up are my old Twitter page from 2012, my YouTube channel plastered with young videos of me, and my current Facebook page. While I do not have anything inappropriate or harmful to my reputation anywhere on my social media pages, it is still extremely embarrassing to see what I was Tweeting 8 years ago. My mom was right - the world does, in fact, not need to see my day to day business.

My dad has always had a strict rule that he does not want anything to do with him posted on social media, unless it is a nice family photo that he approves of. I was always annoyed by this growing up because I would see my friends post funny photos of their parents all the time when their parents weren't looking. I was under strict monitoring on all platforms that I used at such a young age because I am sure that my parents were terrified of what goes on on these platforms, but I would get so mad when they would tell me to take something down or tell me I was going to regret posting 5 million pictures with my tongue out in 10 years.

Ugh, they were right.

I found myself doing this same speech to my baby sister just less than a month ago when I discovered that her "VSCO" (some platform the kids are using now-a-days...looks just like Instagram, so I don't really understand...) had photos of her with red solo cups in the background. Can red solo cups be used for water, or even juicy juice? Sure! Are they usually used for those purposes? Absolutely not. This is where I got upset because I knew that as an underage girl, these photos didn't look too great, regardless of if she was partaking in the activities or if she was just a person in the photo.

Deletion means nothing. Over the years, I have posted thousands upon thousands of pictures of myself on the Internet in hopes of increasing my public image, but as I have been recently discovering, I am really just creating a digital footprint for myself that can be traced in years to come. Again, I do not post anything that would hinder my image as a professional, but I certainly wish I hadn't been posting so much as a teenager that would come back to haunt in my dreams...

Lynds

The Legendary AOC

Last weekend, I attended the AIPAC (American Isreal Public Affairs Committee) conference in Washington, DC with 18,000 people. I attended this conference, which is pretty controversial in the political realm, for a few different reasons.

1) I support the US-Israel relationship.
2) I was fully funded by AIPAC's Geller Scholarship due to my position as SGA President.
3) I wanted to meet more people who study this topic of Israel and learn about their perspective on this issue no matter what side of the political spectrum they are on.

The US-Israel relationship is truly a bipartisan issue, which is quite astounding in a society that has become so disgustingly polarized. The conference featured speakers who would never in a million years agree on anything else except this one topic of Israel. It was absolutely incredible to hear from speakers like Vice President Pence, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, the Prime Minister of Israel, and so many other influential figures. The connections I made while on this trip are connections that I will carry with me throughout my lifetime, and perhaps connections that may be useful in the future.

I do not want to use this blog as a platform to discuss why I support the US-Israel relationship, so instead, I want to talk about something else today: powerful women in politics.

I would never go to DC and not visit the House offices. That would be absurd of me, you all know that. I have yet to go to these offices since the freshmen members were elected, though, so as soon as I stepped into the first building, I bee-lined to the woman who I was dying to meet: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Of course, as the busy woman she is, she was not in her office. Although saddened, I walked out and thought "well, maybe next time." Not more than 5 minutes later as I am trying to find another office, I see the back of the legendary AOC's head. Her all-black outfit, glasses, and staple red lipstick automatically gave her away, and I stopped dead in my tracks. There she was.

I walked right up to her as she was ending her committee meeting and shakingly asked if I could take a picture with her. After she complimented my outfit (AH!) we took this picture, and off I went on my merry little way.

I don't care who you are. I don't care if you are a Republican or a Democrat, or anything in between. The fact that this now-29 year old WOMAN has made such a roar in our US Congress is mind-blowing and gives me hope that the future of politics will have more involvement from the younger generation and especially more women.

That's all for now.

Mona Haydar: A Muslim Hip Hop Legend

"Hip hop is a tool for liberation...but it can also be misused for harm and disrespect" said the lovely Mona Haydar during a talk with HPU students on the evening of March 20, 2019.

As a female rapper, activist, poet, and mother, this woman stops at nothing when it comes to spreading enlightenment and understanding. One of my very best friends introduced me to her hit song "Hijabi (Wrap my Hijab)" back in the fall, and since that moment, I have been completely in awe of the power this woman holds at her fingertips and how she uses this power to spread awareness of the stereotypes that Muslim women and men face on a daily basis. In this amazing (and catchy!) music video, the Syrian-American artist is seen rapping about these stereotypes along with the challenges and pride that accompany their dress. 

Mona started off her talk by discussing a personal experience with judgment in public of her Hijabi dress. While this was a heartbreaking story to the audience, we quickly realized that this is a daily occurrence for what Haydar goes through every time she steps into the public eye. She then told us that a nice couple offered to "pay it forward" by buying her lunch randomly in an airport cafe the same day, which completely changed Haydar's attitude towards the judgemental public that she feared. 

These are the realities that Muslims face everyday. These are the realities that many different people of all races, ethnicities, religions, gender, sexual orientations face everyday. We have people worldwide who live in literal fear of exiting their front door to face the horrendous, demeaning comments from complete strangers. 

I have never woken up in the mornings dreading leaving my own house out of fear of comments or hatred from others. I do not know what this is like, and I don't want to pretend like I even have an ounce of understanding what this is like, because I absolutely do not. I have been privileged, and because of that, it is my duty to help those who do live in these shadows to feel protected, accepted, and supported by their fellow human beings. 

Mona has made a name for herself in the male-dominated hip-hop industry. As a Muslim woman, she has completely paved her own path to success and has quite honestly kicked ass in doing so. I have a huge passion in spreading diversity and awareness of hidden biases, and Mona's talk only inspired me to keep on pushing. I highly recommend checking out her music and following her journey! 

Lynds 

Let Ideas Flow

As my partner Alex and I discussed, the marketplace of ideas is the most important value of free expression. When Milton first put forth the idea that "when truth and falsehood are allowed to freely grapple, truth will win," I can imagine that this challenged the standing norm at the time because it opened people's eyes to seeing the other side of the story, even if they don't agree with it.

When I think about this concept, I often think about my favorite TedTalk by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie called "The Danger of a Single Story." In this talk, Adichie discusses the "danger" of what happens when we only hear one side of the story, or only hear one story. While she is discussing this danger in terms of single stories and cultural misunderstandings, it is highly applicable to all realms of conversations and can absolutely pertain to the discovery of truth under free expression. For example, while the Israeli-Palistinian conflict is a hot-button topic in politics today, a lot of people worldwide are apathetic to the issue and don't care to look any deeper into both sides of the ongoing story. This phenomenon is "dangerous", though, because the news media highlights each side in different ways which can subconsciously affect a person's attitudes on this issue, especially if they aren't actively looking to separate the truth and the falsehoods. If people were to grapple with these truths and falsehoods, the truth would come out stronger.

Although the marketplace of ideas is the most vital from this list, similar effects can be found from the promotion of tolerance and the protection of dissent. Adichie wants her audience to listen to all stories, not just one, before jumping to conclusions or making a decision on what it means to be a part of a culture. With this, she is promoting tolerance of other aspects of life, even when an individual may be upset by an aspect of a culture that is different from their own. This parallels the reasoning behind why the First Amendment protects hate speech; society can only grow when there are constant  challenges. Furthermore, when our system protects the voices of the outspoken minority, there are more ideas circulating around that may challenge existing norms. These challenges should not be feared. These challenges should be welcomed. The only way to advance and to foster the growth of a nation or a state is to put all of the ideas on an evening playing field.

The German government does a fantastic job of maintaining an open marketplace of ideas and the protection of minority voices. While it is common to joke that the German government's present-day actions are based on their horrendous past experiences with Hitler, it is true - Hitler is the reason that the German government is set up in such a way that no majority power can rule, and that minority voices will always be heard because the parties are forced to form coalitions in the Bundesrat and Bundestag in order to get things done on behalf of the German people.

Lynds

Supreme Law of the Land

I woke up one day when I was 8 and said "I am going to be a lawyer." I'm sure my parents laughed and shoo-ed me along, but I wasn't kidding. 13 years later, and my same dream still stands.

I focused my 8th grade "DC" project on the Supreme Court, and from that project, I fell head over heels for all things judicial-branch-related. When we went on our trip that spring, we were able to stop by the Supreme Court, and my 13-year-old self was internally screaming. This is where I need to be. 

My focus in college has been on judicial politics due to my fascination. Ruth Bader Ginsburg? You mean the notorious RBG? My queen.

If at least four justices want to hear a case, then all nine justices will agree to hear it, and that is a MAJOR deal. Some attorneys will devote their entire life to trying to argue their case in front of these nine people. Crazy, right?

October to June is a wild time for those nine, to say the least. Can you imagine dedicating 8 months of your year to listening to court cases that could affect the entire US population? A mind-blowing concept.

The decision on cases is the most important and integral part of the Supreme Court's work. As we all know, the media will be swarming outside of the Court on the day that these decisions are coming out. Every reporter wants to be the first one to know the decision so that their news first can be the first one to alert the US. And I don't blame them.

That's all for now...
Lynds

First Amendment Frenzy

"Supreme Court justices seem unlikely to extend First Amendment protections to users of social media platform such as Facebook and Twitter" I read when I woke up this morning as it scrolled across my screen from CNBC. Whaaaaat? 

The Supreme Court, our Supreme Court, has always intrigued me. The fact that 9 people have power over the entire nation is scary. Powerful, but scary. And, even more so, the fact that these 9 people are able to have rule over social media companies by moderating what they have on their platforms may be even scarier.

I don't mean scary in a bad way, necessarily, but more so with the connotation of the control that the government can have. As we have seen, the USSC stays far away from entering an arena of this nature, but with the issues that are arising in social media these days, someone has to start paying attention.

So, here's the question: "does the first amendment apply to private companies operating private property?" 

While I don't think this will be a pressing issue within the next year, the Court heard the oral arguments, and that's a big step in addressing this question already. Based on the article, social media companies are currently interpreting the first amendment to use their discretion in removing content from their own platforms. That, to me, makes sense.

But should the government say what these private companies can and can't do on their platforms?

Think about that one, folks.

Lynds

Advertisements or Stalking?

Senior ball is coming up, and I desparately need a dress, some earrings, and a pair of shoes. I open my computer and hop on some of my favorite websites, including H&M, New York & Co., and Aldo. After scrolling for a while and eventually become frustrated by the amount of money I'll have to spend, I save things to my "save for later" lists, shut my laptop, and pick up my phone to waste the next 10 minutes doing something more productive: scrolling through Facebook.

Hmm, "I wonder what's new today," I thought. "I wonder how Gina's new baby is. Or better yet, what did my mom post for Valentine's Day?" I continue to tap away as I scroll down my screen, and suddenly, I see an advertisement for the exact dress I had just put in my cart on New York & Co.'s website. I immediately exit out of the app due to my annoyance, and get up to go be productive.

This scenario happens daily. I am always shopping online, or looking at jobs on certain websites, and then when I go on my social media apps, those same things I was just looking at or had viewed days ago pops up in an advertisement on my social media page. While I do understand why and how this happens, I am not a big fan of this phenomenon. Something just feels...wrong.

I was wondering how other people felt about this topic, and then I saw the following:

Andreas Mundt, the head of Germany's antitrust regulator, says Facebook can no longer "force its users to agree to the practically unrestricted collection and assigning of non-Facebook data to their Facebook user accounts."

Yay! I'm not the only one who hates this! Facebook, according to this article, thinks this makes their service "better and safer." The big question here is: is the surveillance economy essential to the operation of social media? This has an answer that I really don't know, mostly based on my lack of economical and technological knowledge. I do know one thing, though: I do not want this to happen anymore.

How do we proceed?

That's all for now...
Lynds